Sussex killings to be examined in major NHS review

Ten high profile killings involving patients of a Sussex mental health trust will re-examined in a major new review.

The review into the role of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in a number of killings between 2010 and 2016.

It has been set up following the conviction of Matthew Daley for the stabbing of 79-year-old Donald Lock on the A24 in Findon, which will also be examined in the review.

A spokesman for the trust said, “We are committed to providing high quality and safe care for all our patients. We treat tens of thousands of children, young people and adults for a range of specialist mental health conditions every single year. But sometimes things go wrong. It’s rare but the consequences can be devastating.

“It became clear to us while we were investigating what happened with Mr Daley’s care that independent scrutiny of our services will help us ensure that the care and treatment we provide is as safe as it can be.

“We want the public, patients and their families to feel assured that we have done everything we should to learn the lessons from these tragic incidents.

“Many of the cases have already been subject to an individual independent investigation commissioned by one of our local Clinical Commissioning Groups - the organisations which plan and commission how health services are provided in their area - but we feel it is important that a panel of experts review all these cases together, as well as those which have not been subject to an independent investigation, to look at whether there are any common themes we need to respond to.

We will take on board the findings of this report and implement any recommendations it makes.

“It is our intention to publish the report so that we can share the findings with our patients, their families and our communities.”

The review will look at the killing of Danish tourist Jan Jansen by Kayden Smith in 2012.

Smith, from Hassocks, was given an indeterminate hospital order after he admitted to stabbing Mr Jansen after inviting him into his flat.

The men had met as patients in Langley Green Hospital, Crawley a few days earlier.

The review will also look into the 2011 murder of Jonathan Ellision by 33-year-old David Sole.

Speaking at the time of the offence, Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles said Sole had killed his victim in “a motiveless but brutal drug and drink-fuelled assault”.

Mr Ellison, from Brighton who described as “vulnerable” a the time of the trial.

The 2012 killing of Anne Morris after she was assaulted by her son Graeme will also be examined in the review.

Graeme Morris, from Brighton, had been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and had been in contact with the trust before the killing.

The review will also look at the circumstances of how Steven Dunne, who had been a patient at the Southview Low Secure Unit in Hellingly, killed Gordon Stalker in 2010.

Dunne, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, killed his former neighbour after becoming convinced Mr Stalker was a witch who had captured his soul.

Sean Iron, who killed his friend before burning his body on a Brighton golf course in 2010, had also received care and treatment from the Sussex Trust.

An earlier independent investigation of the case found Iron’s care was “suboptimal and did not follow prescribed Trust policy and procedure.”

The review will also look at how Roger Goswell had been released from a psychiatric clinic a few days before killing his wife Susan in West Chiltington in 2007. Goswell killed himself in a car crash the same day.

It will also look at the circumstances surrounding the murder of Joe Lewis on Christmas Day morning at a flat in Brighton in 2014.

Oliver Parsons, then 31, admitted murdering Mr Lewis, from Rustington, West Sussex, at his flat.

The murder of Chris Poole outside an Eastbourne convenience store in 2012 and the killing of Eastbourne student Janet Muller last year will both also be examined in the review.

The review will look at the trust’s contact with Shane Noble before he took part in a deadly attack on 46-year-old Chris Noble outside the Premier store in the Hydneye area of Eastbourne in 2012.

Noble, then 20-years-old, was jailed for a minimum of 11 years in March 2013 after he was found guilty of murder.

The review will also look at the killing of German Exchange Janet Muller, who was found dead in the boot of a car in Horsham last year.

In February this year Christopher Jeffrey-Shaw, of south-east London was found guilty of Ms Muller’s manslaughter and jailed for 17 years.

The trust asked the case to be included in the review as Ms Muller was a patient with them at the time of her death.

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